Killer opioid makes its way to Houston
Elephant tranquilizer lethal in tiny doses found in meth batch
A powerful opioid used to tranquilize elephants has surfaced in Houston, a drug so deadly that officials have ordered immediate protective gear for forensic lab workers, police and other first responders.
A powerful opioid used to tranquilize elephants has surfaced in Houston, a drug so deadly that officials have ordered immediate protective gear for forensic lab workers, police and other first responders.
Carfentanil, related to the legal pharmaceutical fentanyl, was confirmed in Houston this month after a presumed batch of methamphetamine instead tested positive for the opioid June 7 at the Houston Forensic Science Center, according to the center’s CEO Peter Stout.
“This stuff is really frightening,” Stout said. “It’s only legitimate use is as an elephant tranquilizer. The estimates are that a lethal dose of this is about 20 micrograms — that would be 20 millionths of a gram. So, a lethal dose is something so small likely you’re not going to see it.”
Stout appeared at a news conference Tuesday morning to warn the public about the dangers with Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo, a representative from the Harris County District Attorney’s Office and Joseph Arabit, the special agent in charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency’s Houston office.
Carfentanil is the world’s most potent commercial opioid, according to the DEA, and the latest substance fueling a growing American opioid crisis littered with overdose deaths.
Stout added that there is no “viable and easy” field test for carfentanil.
Acevedo said officers will be equipped with upgraded masks, gloves and plastic evidence bags. In the meantime, first responders have been advised to double up on gloves and masks for protection. Dozens of officers in the narcotics unit also have two doses each of Narcan, a nasal spray narcotic antidote that can prevent overdose fatalities.
The police chief warned the public against playing “Russian Roulette” with their lives by taking illegal pills and other drugs potentially laced with carfentanil.
“Some criminal organizations are actually importing this stuff and actually distributing pure fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances because the profit margins are so high,” the chief said. “We are urging people to protect themselves … by not using illegal substances.”
The mayor said the cost to protect officers could be about $75 each.
He also urged the public to avoid dealing with a “very dangerous substance” that is not easily identified in most cases.
“This stuff is real and this stuff will kill you,” Turner said. “Just touching it, inhaling it — tasting it — can be dangerous, so the general public needs to be concerned.”